I recently interviewed a really inspirational mom from Australia who has developed a pretty unique way of helping her son with Aspergers to develop; and the results speak for themselves. Her name is Anne Miles and she has been able to take her son (J) from the point of a very low ebb in his life (which included him having suicidal thoughts at the tender age of 7), to become the School Vice Captain.

Now if you are wondering what a Vice School Captain is – it’s basically the role of second most responsible pupil in the school (in the UK it would be the Assistant Head Prefect). And the really amazing thing is that the role is based on a popularity vote from other students. So J was actually voted as 2nd most popular child at the school, which is just something that so rarely happens for kids with Aspergers in my experience. So how did he (and Anne) manage this…

Well as you can imagine it would take more than a quick blog article to go through the whole process. But I’ll try to give you just a flavor of what Anne did. A lot of it boils down to her fundamental attitude towards Aspergers. She views it very much as a condition where success can happen, rather than a disorder. Easy to say you may think, but how do she go about this…

Anne studied various disciplines whilst raising J which include life coaching and Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP).  Now if you’ve never come across it, you may think that NLP seems a very complex and academic sounding term; and to be honest it does sound rather high brow! But what it really means is how people organise their thoughts, feelings, language and behavior to produce the results that they do in their life.

So Anne took what she studied in NLP, along with what she had been doing naturally as a parent, to help J. One great example of this is by looking at inspirational people with Aspergers and dissecting their success. For example she mentioned people like Bill Gates and Einstein who are both rumored to have Aspergers. She then spent time studying and discussing their strengths with her son, and helping him to really see what advantages Aspergers can bring.

Another idea on this theme is about turning her son’s obsessions into what Anne calls “mastery”. She gave me an example of a child with an obsession of tying shoe laces. Now to tell him not to do this is ineffective. But to allow him to continue to do this activity, which is not going to be seen in a very positive light socially, is unhelpful too. So Anne suggests channelling this energy into (for example) making a shoelace sculpture, which has a far more socially desirable outcome. Her own son J is now a very accomplished artist following such techniques.

A third and final point that I would like to share today is the idea that we should never tell a child with Aspergers what NOT to do. Due to their very literal and often rigid thinking they are not able to work out on their own what in fact they SHOULD do. So rather than say “stop running straight across the road without looking” instead you should say “you need to cross the road at the crossing, look both ways at traffic and walk steadily but not too fast”. So the instruction is in a very explicit manner (no grey area, just plain black and white what to do).  Anne has had a lot of success with using this type of approach with J.

Well like I say this is just a snippet of what Anne had to tell me, and there will soon be opportunity for you to listen to the whole interview (including her fascinating approach to melt downs, which allowed J to go from almost daily meltdowns to only having 1 meltdown in the past 6 months)!

I hope this information has been helpful today, and please give me and Anne any feedback on the blog comments section below.

Thanks,

Dave Angel

Question

What are the most beneficial therapy types available for Aspergers?

Answer

When a child is first diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, he may be referred for therapy.  Asperger’s Syndrome, as you know, is not a condition that can be cured.  Asperger’s Syndrome is a neurodevelopmental condition that is treated with an individualized treatment plan that may include different therapies and medications.   “The Autism Sourcebook : Everything You Need to Know About Diagnosis, Treatment, Coping, and Healing,” by Karen Siff Exkorn is one of the best published resources for families dealing with Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome.  Written by a parent of a child with Autism, this book covers all aspects of living with Autism once the diagnosis is received.   Here are some of the most common treatment options.

*    Young children are often treated with ABA therapy.  Applied Behavioral Analysis is a form of therapy used to teach young children basic skills in many different areas.  For example, ABA can be used to teach young children to make eye contact, to play with toys, and to identify shapes and colors.

*    Cognitive-behavioral therapy is used to treat the emotional side of Asperger’s Syndrome like anxiety, depression, and obsessions.  This therapy helps form the connections between feelings, emotions, and behavior.

*    Occupational therapy is basically used to teach independence.  Grasp, handwriting, social skills, and play skills are often included.  This therapist may help your child learn to tie his shoes of zip his jacket.

*    Sensory integration therapy may be included by the occupational therapist.  Some occupational therapists are trained in sensory therapies and some are not.  This therapy helps get your child’s sensory systems in synch.

*    Speech/language therapy covers speech articulation as well as pragmatics, or fluency.  Language therapy covers social communication, and in some cases, social skills.  Speech/language therapy will help your child learn to communicate verbally or nonverbally, if necessary, with the use of picture exchange and/or sign language.

*    Physical therapy addresses the physical awkwardness that sometimes comes with Asperger’s Syndrome.  Awkward gait and lack of balance are common complaints.  This therapist may help your child learn to kick a ball, walk up and down stairs, and ride a bicycle.

*    Social skills training is a therapy that teaches children with Asperger’s how to relate to others, making and keeping friends, how to recognize social cues and gestures, and other details such as personal space and understanding slang.

It is very important for parents to fully support and participate in their child’s therapy.  Asperger’s therapies can be successfully performed by parents in the home with the proper support and training.

Thanks for reading,

Dave Angel